Review: Samsung Galaxy S4

When I first opened the box of the Samsung Galaxy S4 review unit loaned to me by AT&T, I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. While I knew the company’s newest flagship smartphone didn’t overhaul the design of its predecessor, the Galaxy S3, I was surprised at just how little had changed at first glance.

The S4 still looks like an overgrown Apple iPhone 3G to me (and apparently to Apple’s lawyers as well, since they’re trying to have the S4 added to their latest patent lawsuit against Samsung), and it’s still largely made of plastic. But those impressions change significantly when you pick it up and turn it on.

While the S3 felt cheap and insubstantial, the S4 is thinner and denser, and thus more solid. Yeah, there’s still that slick plastic back, which is alarmingly thin when you remove it. But overall, the build quality is a noticeably improved, even if the materials used are the same.

I say this at the outset because the S4′s plastic design has taken a lot of knocks from other reviewers, as well as Android users who are looking for their next smartphone. Given that the other top choice among high-end Android devices is HTC’s beautiful, unibody, aluminum-based One, the S4 is getting an unfair rap. The hardware on the S4 isn’t as nice as the HTC One, but Samsung hasn’t simply replicated the cheap-feeling S3 here. It’s an incremental change, but it makes a difference.

And that largely sums up the Galaxy S4. Those looking for a radically different approach to a smartphone will need to look elsewhere (probably at the One). But as Apple did with the iPhone 5, Samsung has tweaked, tightened and evolved its flagship smartphone. As a result, it’s the most advanced device of its type at the moment.

Here are the specs:

• The S4 has a 5-inch, Super AMOLED display with a 1,920-by-1080 resolution. That results in a 441-pixel-per-inch density. The S3 by comparison has a 1,280-by-720 resolution and a 306-ppi pixel density. And yes, the S4′s display is the same resolution as most HDTVs.

• The chassis is slightly narrower and slightly thinner than the S3, at 5.38 by 2.75 by .031 inches. The S4 accommodates its larger screen by narrowing the bezel area. It weighs just under 4.6 ounces.

• Its rear camera has 13 megapixels with a 4X optical digital zoom, while the front has 2 MP. The cameras both can capture full 1080p HD video. Software enables the camera to do all kinds of interesting things. More on that in a moment.

• In the U.S., the processor is a quad-core, 1.9-GHz Snapdragon 600. It has 2 gigabytes of RAM and the model I tried has 16 GB of storage. However, as I wrote last week, you only get access to about 9 GB of that in the AT&T model, thanks to all the software from Samsung and the carrier. A version with 32 GB of storage is also available. Data storage can be increased using a microSD memory card, but you can’t store apps on it.

• The S4 for AT&T works on the carrier’s HSPA+ and LTE bands. It also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (802.11n, supporting the 2.4-and 5-GHz bands).

• As with all modern smartphones, the S4 has an accelerometer, a GPS, a proximity sensor, gyroscope, a compass and the ability to check the ambient light in the room. But it also can sense temperature and humidity. The S4 also can detect what your eyes are doing, and can sense gestures near, but not necessarily on, the screen.

• The S4 comes with a 2,600-mAh replaceable battery.

• It ships with Android 4.2.2, a variant of Jelly Bean.

The Galaxy S4’s screen is easily the best I’ve seen on any smartphone. It’s bright, with rich colors, and I didn’t have issues seeing it in bright sunlight.

The camera is the easily the standout feature on this smartphone. While I think most folks will just point and shoot with the S4’s excellent camera, the phone is just bristling with software that lets you do all kinds of interesting things. Many of the features are also found in Samsung’s Galaxy Camera, the Android-based point-and-shoot I reviewed in March.

For example, you can record a bit of sound to go with an image, or capture freeze-frame images from action that can be stitched together. The Best Face feature lets you take multiple photos, then pull into one image a composite with the best facial expressions.

Or, there’s the odd feature that lets you use both front and rear cameras at the same time. You can show yourself admiring what you’re photographing. It takes a little bit of skill to get both cameras lined up just right.

You can change the border on the front camera’s image, make the frame smaller or larger and move it around on the screen. You can also use the two-camera feature for video, which may make more sense.

The rear camera’s 13 megapixels makes this a powerhouse for casual photography. While Samsung’s cameras tend to oversaturate colors, the general result is rich with detail. Here’s a simple shot with the S4′s camera:

And for comparison, here’s the same picture taken with a Galaxy S3.

And yes, the aspect ratios are different on the two cameras.

The camera’s potential complexity is symbolic of Samsung’s approach to the S4. Using software, it’s loaded the smartphone up with an overwhelming slew of features, with apps that track health, work with Samsung’s voice recognition system or allow for almost infinite customization of the interface.

In fact, Samsung even offers a way to hide this complexity. You can turn on something called Easy Mode, which flattens the look and dramatically cuts down on the number of visible apps. Fonts are generally bigger on Samsung’s own apps in this mode, which makes it ideal for older users.

With its quad-core processor, the S4 is as fast as you’d expect it to be. (If you’re a smartphone speed junkie, though, you’ll wish you were living in Europe, where the S4 boasts an eight-core processor!) And here’s a tip: The phone is even faster in Easy Mode.

Battery life is very, very good. With moderate use, I could get two days between charges. Heavier use dropped that to a day and an half, which is still more than acceptable.

This is generally an excellent smartphone, and if you buy into Samsung’s philosophy of more-is-always-better, you’ll love it. If you’re not a fan of bloatware, you may want to wait for Google’s announced, unlocked version of S4 that runs stock Android. When it goes on sale on June 26, it won’t be available with a contract that subsidizes it (it will work on either T-Mobile’s or AT&T’s networks) so you’ll pay almost $600 for the privilege of having a crapware-free Galaxy S4. But for some, it will be more than worth it.

This model is available for $199 with a 2-year contract from AT&T. Similar deals are available from the other major carriers.

If you’re looking for a high-end Android smartphone, it’s really between this and the HTC One. The latter has a much nicer design and, while it does tart up Android in its own way, takes less of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to the software. The One’s lack of a memory card slot is an issue, though, and some won’t like its sealed-battery design. In terms of hardware flexibility, the Galaxy S4 comes out the winner.